'Miami Herald' Finds Surprisingly Quiet Local Response to Fidel's Exit

By: E&P Staff Some might have expected Little Havana in Miami, or nearby Hialeah, to erupt with dancing in the streets or some other celebrations today with news that Cuba's leader Fidel Castro had announced he was stepping down at long last.

But the main Miami Herald article is its miami.com Web site found that calm and caution prevailed. Here is an excerpt.
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Many Cuban Americans expressed optimism tempered by caution Tuesday after awakening to news that Fidel Castro is stepping down as Cuba's official leader after nearly a half century.

''In a year or so, I think, we will see some change,'' Luis Garcia, 75, said as he stood in front of the Versailles Restaurant, a landmark in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. ``Fidel no longer has the ability to run a country. He's very ill.''

Regina Botello, another customer at the restaurant, said: ``It's the best thing that could have happened on this 19th of February. It's the first step toward real change.''

Others were more skeptical. ''The only sign of change will come when he dies,'' Roberto Perez, who left the island nearly 40 years ago, said of Castro. ``That's the only thing that matters.''

Several prominent members of the exile community urged Cuban Americans to dismiss the announcement as largely meaningless.

''This is nothing but a show the Havana governnent has put on to move the media and confuse the people of Cuba,'' said Miguel Saavedra, head of the anti-Castro group Vigilia Mambisa. ``The only change would be an overthrow of the system, a complete uprooting of the regime.''

Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, who runs Florida's fifth largest city, played down the news that he first heard by telephone at 5:15 a.m. -- and he said he was not expecting a major reaction. ''All's quiet,'' he said of his city of 236,000 people. ``This is just official confirmation of what we knew 18 or 19 months ago.

''It's a transfer of power from one brother to the other . . .,'' Robaina said. ``Short of the two Castro brothers leaving the island or dying, you're not going to get a strong reaction from this community.''

He said Hialeah has a ''coordinated plan'' for the day when Cuban Americans believe real change has finally occurred on the island.

''We have a plan that will protect people's life and safety firs,t but will allow them to show their emotions and reactions,'' he said. ``Right now we're not expecting any demonstrations or celebrations.''

A few people waved flags or honked their cars' horns, but little jubilation seemed evident as regular customers trickled into the Versailles and other restaurants and open-air coffee stands along Calle Ocho, Little Havana's main artery.

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